Dynamo-electric machine.



. 2' SHEETS-SHBET 1.

Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

T. FERGUSON.

DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 1909.

T. FERGUSON.

DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE.

ALPILIOATION TILED MAY 15, 1909.

1,070,437, Patentd Aug". 19, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- varying speeds.

TEGMAS FERGUSON, 3F ALTBINCHAM, ENQLQEXD.

DYNAMO-ELEOIRIC lv'lIACHINE.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS Fnnooson, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residentof Altrinoham, Cheshire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to DynamoElectric Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to dynamo-electric machines and relates to new or improved means for automatically regulating the output of such machines when driven at varying speeds.

The chief uses of the invention will be for dynamos used for train lighting and venti latingwvhere the dynamo is driven from the carriage axle, or with dynanios used in electric lighting plants, where the power is obtained from a prime mover, such as a windmill or water-wheel and where the power available, as regards speed, is diflicult of control. Such machines are almost invariabl used in conjunction with storage batteries and broadly speakin may be divided into two classes, namely, t ose which maintain constant voltage independently of the external circuit, and those which depend on the external circuit for their regulation, or, in other words, which tend to maintain more or less a constant current, the storage battery maintainin the external circuit comparatively uni orm. This invention broadly speaking may be said to belong to the latter class.

In either class of machine, the effective magnetic field passing through the armature must be reduced as the speed rises above the normal in order to obtain the desiredregula tion. \Vell known methods of attaining this consist in gradually introducing resistances into the field magnet circuit as the speed .rises, or in sliding the armature in an endwise direction out of the magnetic field, and well known methods of performing these functions consist in the use of centrifugal governors.

This invention deals with means for reducing the magnetic field which are characterized by the direct regulation of the driving torque of the dynamo whereby such torque becomes less as the speed rises above the normal and greater as the speed de creases down to normal, thereby causing the dynamo to maintain a constant current with A further characteristic of the said means is that the torque is trans Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 15, 1909.

. Patented Aug,

Serial No. 495,245.

mitted,through two contacting faces, one

which is curved and inclined and bears definite relation to the output of current in relation to the speed. -1

The indirect use of the driving torque has been previously proposed in cases wl'iere it desired to maintain a constant driving torque and speed on the crank shaft of an engine under varying conditions of enter circuit, but the current has been the varying factor, while the speed, torque and output have remained constant; but this invention is distinct from any such arrangements in that it provides for automatically varying the torque as the speed varies and keeps the current constant, thus the suecd and torque are the varying factors w ile the current and voltage remain constant.

The present invention also deals with improved means tor automatically alter 1: llr brush lead as the speed varies so as to eliminate sparking which is apt to irtur blesome in variable speed dyoamos at lug speeds.

Upon the accompanying,dra win 1 illustrates a longitudinal sectim al elevation on line Fig. 3 of a dynamo adapted say for traiirlighting purposes, and with the invention applied thereto in the form in which it serves to regulate the eii'ective magnetic field by sliding the armature out from between the magnet poles, in this view the armature is shown in the normal or minimum speed position. illustrates a like view but showing the armature in the maximum speed position. 3 illustrates a transverse sectional elevatiiiin of Fig. l. on line 'tC--UJ, Fig. 4 illustrates a Ti l A 1 ,3.

detached plan of an important part hereinska Lilli) tion of the invention to the sliding of the armature, a is the driving shaft of? the dynamo which at each end is supported in bearings (1 formed in the dynamo cas'ug t, the bearings being such as to support the shaft and also to'prerent the shaft moving endwise. (Z is a'belt pulley keyedto the shaft and by which motion is transmitted to the shaft. 6 is the armature, and f, f are the field magnet poles.

Instead of the armature being mounted as usual directly upon the shaft a it. is now mounted upon and rigidly fixed to a hollow shaft or spider g, and such spider, instead of being keyed to the shaft, is normally free to rotate around and slide along the shaft' Upon one end of the spider is rigidly mounted the regulator it comprising a tubular extension in which is cut a slot which produces diverging curved and inclined edges It, If, see Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the inclinations of which are constantly changmg.

Fixed in the shaft a is a pin or peg which lies at right angles to the periphery of -the-shaft, and upon which is a roller 1" adapted to lie Within the slot in the regulator as shown, and press against the edge it, or it according to the direction of rotation of the shaft.

Upon the other end of the spider g is loosely mounted, by means of suitable bearings, a frame or plate 7'. By this latter are carried the insulated brush holders k and also two stops Z, Z (see Fig. 3) oppositely i et and one adapted, on the frame being given a partial rotation in one direction, to bear against one edge of a fixed stop in on the dynamo casing, and the other adapted, on the frame being given a partial rotation in the opposite direction, to bear against the other edge of the stop m. Upon the shaft a is a shoulder a and against such shoulder normally abuts the spider g, see Fig. 1. Between the other end of the spider, or a collar a (loose or free to slide on the shaft) and a collar 0 (fixed or keyed to turn with the 40 shaft) and also encircling the shaft, is a spiral spring p. By means of the spring the spider is pressed against the shoulder 41,.

For regulating the tension of the spring the collar to is provided with a screw thread, and a not a, which latter, after being adjusted, is held against rotation relatively to'the collar, by set screws the points of which projcct into grooves g.

i The action of the improved regulating devices may be described as follows z--Power is transmitted to the shaft a by means of a belt and the pulley (Z. The driving torque is, in turn, transmitted from the shaft to the i armature by the peg 2' pressing upon one or other of the inclined edges of the regulator it. So long as the driving torque acting between the peg and regulator does not produce a component force which exceeds the initial pressure of the spring 7), plus the magnetic pull tending to draw the armature back, plus the friction to oppose the motion of sliding, the armature will be rotated in ,the usual plane, but so soon as such force overbalances the initial pressure of the spring the regulator It then begins to slip peg in one way or the other with the increase or decrease of the force exerted by the peg.

As for a given output, the driving torque must decrease as the speed .increases, the slope of the regulator edges are cut with a gradually varying inclination so that at all positions of the armature, corresponding to the various speeds, a-balance is obtained be tween the aforesaid component force and the resisting force of the spring, plus the aforesaid magnctic attraction and friction of sli l ing parts.

To determine the shape of the regulator, the correct positions of the armature -corresponding to the various speeds for a predetermined output are determined by calculations or experimentally, as also the forces required to compress the spring over its working range and the magnetic pull and friction opposing the sliding. The driving forces of the peg are also calculated from the output (allowing for elllciences) at the various speeds. These being determined, the slopes of the regulator at various points are obtained by means of diagrams known as the polygon of forces for inclined planes in lhe well known manner. By means of a number of inclines thus determined, corresponding to the various positions of the an mature for varying speeds, the curve of the regulator is set out in development by any of the usual methods.

In cases where the speed is apt to vary very rapidly the inertia of the armature must also be taken into account, along with the other forces, when plotting the curve. in such cases also an air dash-pot arrangement may be used to act along with the spring, the function of the dash pot being to resist too rapid cndwisc movement of the armature and to offer a negligible resistance to a gradual movement. '1. he dash pot may be produced by a suitable telescopic construetion of the collars n and 0 as shown, the air leaking through a suitable outlet 1". As only the edges It, If of the slot in the regulator are used for transmitting the driving torque, the other portions of the regulator might be dispensed with, but to afford the better balance they are retained, and for the purpose of holding them firmly in position they are encircled by a ring 8 held to the regulator by screws 15, see Figs. 5, 6 and 7. In the ring are gaps s for allowing the end of the peg to pass the ring. I, i

As it is generally desirable in the case of train-lighting systems to provide some method of adjusting the normal output of the dynamo other than by putting resistances in circuit with the field magnet windings, this method having the effect of altering the normal speed of the dynamo, it is proposed to do this by adjusting the initial compression of the controlling spring p by means of the nut n.

As in this invention the armature and frame move along the shaft, and the carrier frame j is mounted on bearings on the spider, it is proposed, in order to automatically vary the lead of the brushes relatively to the position of the armature in the magnetic field, to make the stop on with sloping edges, see Fig. 4,'so that as the stop Z or Z on the frame 7' slides along it, the slope will automatically give the correct lead of the brushes as the speed varies and the magnetic field is reduced, which has the effect, as is well known, of reducing the sparking at the commutaton.

The current is ld away from the brush holders by means of flexible connections it which are of such a length as to allow of the endwise movements of the armature and partial rotation' of the frame j, and which, in order to avoid entanglement may pass through insulated guide eyes or the like carried by the frame j. p

The invention as previously described is designed chiefly for train-lighting and in this case the regulator will be constructed so as to give a constant or nearly constant output in order to maintain a practically constant voltage at the lamp terminals, but I do not wish to confine myself to constant output regulation, as I' may vary the shape of the regulator so as to regulate in any predetermined manner.

VVhatI claim is 1. In. dynamo electric machines and in means for automatically controlling the output when the machine is driven at varying speeds, the combination of a driving shaft,

cured to the sleeve and having diverging curved and inclined edges, a peg in the shaft adapted to bear against one or the other of the said edges of the extension and when the shaft is rotated drive the sleeve and armature, a spring for counter balancing the axial component force produced by the driving force of the peg on one of the aforesaid curved and inclined edges of the said extension while allowing of a slip between the said edge of the extension and the peg when the said driving force varies, owing to variations of speed, the inclination of the said inclined edges varying in'such'a manner that a balance is obtained between the aforesaid axial componentforce and aforesaid spring,

projections forming stops and brush gear carried by the said frame, in combination with a plate or stop on the dynamo casing having sloping and convergin edges against one Or the other of which t e pr'ojections on the frame are respectively tie-- signed to hear when the frame isgiven a partial rotationin one direction or the other, and which serve to automatically adjust the lead of thebrushes as the armature is slid out from, or in toward its normal posi-- THOMAS FERGUSON.

\Vitnesses I F. C. PENNINGTON, P. D. BAILEY. 

